Note: A previous version of this article contained a misleading description of the Hudson River School. The Hudson River School was a group of New York artists that pioneered American Impressionism.
The LSU Museum of Art unveiled its new exhibition to the public. “In a New Light: American Impressionism 1870-1940, Works from the Bank of America” is a collaborative effort by the museum and Bank of America.
The partnership has amassed a sizeable collection of art pieces that is lent to galleries through the “Art in our Communities” program. Since 2008, Bank of America has shared exhibitions with over 175 museums around the world, with the ultimate goal of promoting an understanding of art and the cultures which inspire artists to create.
“In the early 1900s, bankers invested in art,” explained chief museum curator Michelle Schulte. “Bank of America took all of these pieces in and at some point, decided that they wanted to get them out of storage and developed a program to lend them to galleries free of cost.”
The goal of the exhibit is community building. Schulte says the museum is thankful to Bank of America for bringing this to Baton Rouge. The exhibit of over 75 pieces tells a story of the transition of American art out of realism and into impressionism, which is more synonymous with depictions of fleeting moments in everyday life.
American Impressionism began as as experimental combination of Tonalism and European Impressionism by the Hudson River School, a group of New York landscape painters. This allowed the artists to create art that was more on par with how increasingly industrialized and diverse America was becoming in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
As spectators view the pieces of “In a New Light”, the urban spaces begin to take form on the East Coast, then continue moving westward near more rural areas that Americans were still unfamiliar with. Detailed depictions of light, countless quick brushstrokes and vibrant color palettes come together to create snapshots of this time period.
The lives of all kinds of Americans, from maritime workers in New England to indigenous communities in California, are represented in the pieces. Standout landscape pieces give viewers a glimpse of where and how they lived.
Schulte hopes that those who visit this exhibit will leave with a broader perspective of what American art truly is.
“I hope that people look at the evolution of the American painting, and also the idea of how religion influences color, composition and scheme,” Schulte said. “Where you were in America really mattered back then.”
The LSU Museum of Art will be unveiling another exhibit on Thursday, Oct. 31 titled “Rembrandt, Goya, and Dürer: The Marvel of Old Masters” and will be hosting a free winter reception for both of these exhibits on Thursday, Dec. 5.
To keep up with the LSU Museum of Art, you can follow its Instagram: @lsumoa.
LSU Museum of Art and Bank of America team up to illuminate American Impressionism
By @arisofmars
October 30, 2024